How much does it cost to run a laptop?
We've pre-filled a typical laptop below. Set your electricity rate and adjust the hours to match how you use yours — the cost updates instantly.
A laptop is one of the cheapest things you can plug in. Unlike a desktop tower with a separate monitor, everything — screen, processor, storage — is built to run off a battery, so even at full tilt a laptop only draws 20 to 100 watts, and most of that happens while the battery is actively charging, not once it's topped off.
Run a laptop 6 hours a day and you're talking pennies a day, not dollars — a load that's genuinely hard to spot on a bill next to a fridge or a water heater. The real value of knowing the number isn't finding ways to cut it — there's not much slack left; it's a reality check: if your electric bill jumped, the laptop is almost never why.
What drives the cost of running a laptop
- Charging state: draw is highest while the battery is actively filling and drops off sharply once it hits 100%
- Screen brightness and size: the display is usually the single biggest power draw in a laptop, more than the CPU under normal use
- What you're doing: idle browsing or writing sits near the low end of the 20-100W range; video calls, gaming, or video editing push it toward the high end
How to cut it
- Lower screen brightness and enable battery-saver/power-saving mode — the display is usually the biggest single draw
- Let it sleep or hibernate instead of leaving it awake and plugged in when you step away
- Unplug or use a smart plug once it's fully charged — trickle draw after 100% is small but not zero
- Skip the gaming laptop or discrete GPU for everyday tasks if you have a choice — that's where laptop wattage climbs toward desktop territory
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a laptop per month?
At a typical 50W and about 6 hours a day, a laptop costs roughly $1.53 a month at $0.17/kWh. Set your own rate and hours above for an exact figure.
How can I cut the cost of running a laptop?
Lower screen brightness and enable battery-saver/power-saving mode — the display is usually the biggest single draw
Does leaving my laptop plugged in all the time cost extra?
Barely. Once the battery hits 100%, a modern laptop's charger drops to a trickle — a watt or two at most — so leaving it plugged in overnight or all weekend adds only a fraction of a cent. It's not worth unplugging just to save money.
Why does my laptop use so much less power than my old desktop?
A desktop tower plus a separate monitor typically draws 100-300+ watts combined, while a laptop packs a lower-power mobile processor, integrated graphics, and an efficient built-in screen into one 20-100W package. That's the tradeoff for portability — less raw performance, but a fraction of the electricity cost.
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